Selecting mechanism



Feb. 18, 1947. I EDsQN ET AL 2,415,941

SELECTING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 13, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet l 56 El 2r; lNVENTORs 1 v N M. Ea'eon 1 T I a BY fdr/ B. Hoback AGE T 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 18, 1947. N. M. EDSCN ETAL SELECTING MECHANISM Filed 061;. 13, 1943 N. M. EDSON ET AL SELECTING. MECHANISM Filed Oct. 13. 1945 Feb. 18, 1947.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3 I 56 5/ /72 I I INVENTO S Me/M Eason' Bar! B. "db'ack Acauf Feb. 18, 1947. N.M.1 :DS ON HAL 2,415,941

SELECTING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 13, 1943 4. Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTO S Noe/ IV. fclson BY Earl B. l'lolac/r Patented Feb. 18, 1947 SELECTING MECHANISM Noel M. Edson, Independencaand Earl B. Hoback, Kansas City, Mo., assignors to Remington Arms Company, Inc., Brid tion of Delaware geport, Conn., a corpora;

Application October 13, 1943, Serial No. 506,064

The present invention relates, in general, to an article feeding machine, and, particularly, to a machine for selectively arranging a plurality of articles in predetermined sequence.

In modern warfare, small arms ammunition, and, especially .50 caliber cartridges, are used extensively in machine guns of aircraft, and, to this end, the cartridges are assembled in continuous belts which, in some instances, consist of two hundred and sixty-five rounds of ammunition.

The assembly of these machine gun ammunition belts is not a part of the present invention but sufilce it to say that these belts are commonly formed by joinin together the individual cartridges by suitable interconnected links which encircle each cartridge and are adapted to be automatically disconnected and slipped off of a case when the cartridge is fired in the machine gun. Moreover, for tactical reasons, it is desirable that these belts should comprise cartridges of various types, that is to say, .50 caliber armor piercing, .50 caliber incendiary and .50 caliber tracer arranged in a, predetermined sequence; as for example, three armor piercing cartridges may be followed by one incendiary and one tracer or two armor piercing cartridges may be followed by one incendiary and two tracers. Obviously, a number of variations in sequence of the cartridges may be had dependin upon the particular tactical problem to be met.

Heretofore, the methods and means for assembling the various types of cartridges in a predetermined sequence for assembly in ammunition belts have been slow and laborious and wholly inadequate t meet the exigency of present day demands,

For the purposes of illustration only, the present invention will be described with reference to an improved machine, an object of which is to automatically feed .50 caliber cartridges of various types to a link belt loading device and in predetermined sequence, but it will be clearly understood that the invention is not limited to the particular machine shown or to the use described, but may have other uses and may be embodied in modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be described in greater detail in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the machine of this invention adapted to selectively arrange a plurality of cartridges of diflerent types in predetermined sequence.

2 Claims. (Cl. 198-79) Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine partly in section showing the front and rear ends and a fragmentary intermediate portion.

Fig. 2a is a diagrammatic plan view of themachine showing covers for the conveyor chain.

Fig. 2b is a sectional elevation on line 2b2b of Fig. 2.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the machine showing the conveyor chain and one of the chutes for delivering cartridges onto the chain.

Fig; 4 is a front elevation, partly in section, of the conveyor chain and trough on line 4--4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation, partly in section, of the conveyor chain and trough on line 5-5 of Fig. 4 showing the gate in both its normal and displaced positions.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the gate.

Fig. 6a is a fragmentary perspective View of a modification of the gate shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the gate of Fig. 6 showing the gate trigger assembled thereon.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one of the article retaining fingers shown on the gate in Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the gate trigger.

Referring to the drawings, the machine of this invention comprises, in general, an endless conveyor chain l5, see Fig. 1, adapted to be moved longitudinally through a trough l6, cartridges being fed successively and in predetermined sequence to the chain from a plurality of chutes i'l mounted on the trough above the chain l5.

In the present invention, the cartridges which have been selectively deposited on the chain from the chutes ll, as hereinafter described, are carried by the chain over the end of the trough into a suitable belt linking device, indicated generally at 18, from which complete cartridge belts of two hundred and sixty-five rounds are stripped. The belt linking device and conveyor chain l5 are adapted, as shown and hereinafter described, to be driven from a single power source I9 by means of a suitable chain and sprocket drive 20.

It will be understood, however, that the belt linking device, illustrated at I8, does not form a part of the present invention, and that, consequently, the conveyor chain l5 may be driven independently of the belt linking device and that the conveyor chain may deliver cartridges or other similar articles to means other than a belt linking device depending upon the particular use of which the conveyor chain is to be put. The belt linking deviceshown is merely illustrative of one use of the conveyor chain and forms the 3 subject of a separate copending application, Serial No. 506,065 filed October 13, 1943.

The trough I6 is shown in detail in Figs. 2 and 2b and comprises a pair of angle iron members 22 and 23 arranged longitudinally in spaced parallel relation, their vertically disposed sides forming the sides of the trough and their horizontal inwardly extending sides forming flanges which, as shown, are spanned by a substantally flat rectangular bed plate 24. The longitudinal edges of the latter are secured to the horizontal flanges of the angle iron members by soldered or welded joints. The trough is supported on the fioor or other base by pairs of angle iron legs 25 fastening at their upper ends to the vertical walls of the trough and braced by suitable brackets 25. The front end of the trough is supported by a pair of legs 21 which are somewhat sturdier than the legs 25 and comprise channel members, each having a bearing plate 28 secured thereto arranged to rotatably support the main drive shaft 29, the latter being driven from the power source I9 by the sprocket wheel and chain 20.

As shown in Fig. 2, the main shaft 29 carries an article supporting drum-shaped feeding head 30 having a rearwardly extending portion 30' by which it is suitably fastened to the forward end of the frame, the conveyor chain, indicated diagrammatically at I5, being made to move forwardly along the trough and over the periphery of the feeding head 30 as hereinafter described. A cylindrical shield or cover 32 is shown fastened to the frame in spaced substantially concentric relationship around the periphery of the feeding head 30 to hold the cartridges in the conveyor chain, the cartridges being supported on the periphery of the feeding head as the chain moves thereover. A relatively narrow, fiat band 32' may be arranged around the feeding head adjacent one end thereof and eccentric thereto to support the tapered ends of the cartridges so as to prevent the cartridges from jamming between the links of the chain. a

The conveyor chain I5, shown in detail in Figs. 3 and 4, comprises a pair of link roller chains I fastened together in spaced parallel relationship byrods 45. To this end, the ends of each rod extend through and serve to join together every other link respectively of the two chains, that is to say, every other rivet of the usual type of roller link chain is removed and one end of a rod 45 substituted therefor. The two chains are held in spaced parallel relation by sleeve members 46 carried on the rods 45, the opposite ends of each sleeve abutting the inner faces of the adjacent links of the chain.

The roller links of each chain are adapted to ride and to be guided over the bed 24 of the trough by a pair of rails 33 and 34 which comprise longitudinal bars substantially rectangular in cross section welded or otherwise secured to the bottom of the trough, The belt is moved along the rails by providing a pair of laterally spaced sprocket wheels 3| keyed to the drive shaft 29 at opposite ends of the feeding head 30, the teeth of the sprockets being adapted to be engaged in the links of the respective chains thereby to draw the belt over the periphery of the feeding head 30.

The belt is supported beneath the trough during its return movement from the front to the rear thereof by pairs of laterally spaced rollers 35 mounted on axles 36 which are supportedv at their opposite ends, transversely of the trough,

in bearing plates 31 which depend from the vertical walls thereof.

Suitable means for tightening the belt is shown in Fig. 2 and comprises a pair of rollers 38 rotatably mounted at opposite ends of an axle 39, the ends of which are supported in a pair of sectorshaped plates 40 fastened together in laterally spaced relationship by a spacer bar 4 I each plate .40 being pivotally supported at its apex to one of the pairs of legs 25 of the trough. Suitable members for adjusting the position of the rollers 38 so as to tighten the belt are shown at 42 and comprise a pair of headed bolts, each being threadedly secured in a tapped angularly disposed hole of a block 43 suitably fastened on a leg 25 of the frame, the projecting end of each bolt being adapted to engage an anvil block 44 which is welded or soldered to the adjacent edge of each pivoted sector plate 40. Thus, by advancing the bolts 42 forwardly, the sectors are moved outwardly clockwise, as shown in Fig. 2, thereby tightening the belt I5.

Referring to Fig. 4, the right-hand end of each rod 45 of the belt extends a relatively short distance beyond the outside links of the right-hand chain I5 while the opposite or left-hand end of each rod 45, hereinafter termed the trigger end, extends a relatively long distance beyond the outside links of the left-hand chain I5. Mounted on the trigger endof each rod 45 is a trigger selecting member comprising a disk 41 provided with a hub portion 41, The disk 41, shown in Fig. 4, is located on the trigger end of the rod 45 immediately adjacent the outside link of the respective chain I5 being held in this position against movement along the rod by means of a sleeve 48 of such length that its one end abuts the hub portion 41 of the disk 41 and its opposite end abuts a stop means such as a cotter pin 49 suitably fastened in the outer end of the rod 45.

As shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4, not all of the trigger selecting disks 41 are located at the same point on the trigger ends of the rods. In the embodiment shown, each disk 41 of a set of five disks is located at a different position on the trigger end of its respective rod 45, these distances varying from the innermost position hereinafter identified as position a to the outermost position; e, see Fig. 3, wherein disk 41e is at the extreme outer end of its respective rod 45.

Although five differently positioned disks are shown, it will be understood that more or less than five different positions may be used dependrods having selecting disks 41 arranged thereon as described above; and an additional rod 450 having no selecting disk. The purpose of this additional rod 450 is to interrupt the continuous feeding of cartridges to the conveyor belt, as hereinafter described, so that during the subsequent belt linking process, the failure of a cartridge to be fed to the linking device will cause a break in the cartridge belt each time a belt of two hundred and sixty five cartridges has been completed, and thus, instead of forming, a continuous unending belt, separate belts each',con-'I taining two hundred and sixty five cartridges will be automatically delivered from the belt linking device. Cartridges are fed to the conveyor chain or belt [5 from suitable chutes l1, five being shown in the present embodiment, each chute being supplied manually with one type of cartridge. Since all of the chutes are identical, for the sake of brevity only one chute will be described in detail. Each chute comprises an arcuate sheet metal trough lH substantially equal in width to e le th of a standard cartridge and provided with laterally extending webs 5D and 5| adjacent its lower discharge end. The web 59 is shown welded along its outer edge to a horizontally disposed flange 52' of a bracket 52 which is fixedly supported on the upper edge of the trough I! on the side 23 thereof by means of a second bracket 54 and a bolt 56, the bracket 54 being welded or otherwise fastened to the outside of the trough. A bracket 53 is similarly supported on the side 22 of the trough by a second bracket 55 and a pair of bolts 56 and provides a horizontally disposed flange 53' for supporting the web 5| as hereinafter described.

As shown in Fig. 2. each chute is provided with a rib 56 comprising a flat strip of metal welded along a portion of its upper edge to the underside of the trough, see dotted lines in Fig. 3, to provide a stiffening member and means for supporting the chute in an inclined position with respect to the chain conveyor. The lower exposed upper edge of the rib 55 provides a support for the outwardly extending edge of the web member 5| to which the latter may be welded. As shown, the lower side of the rib 56' lies squarely against the vertical side of the bracket 53 and is secured thereto by a welded joint along the horizontal flange portion .53 of the bracket 53.

The lower end I12 of each chute rests on the upper edge 51 of an angle iron bar 58 which extends horizontally between the spaced parallel sides 22 and 23 of the trough being welded at each end to the corresponding inner faces thereof. It will be seen in Fig. 4 that the upper edges of the bar at opposite ends thereof are out down so as to form shoulders 59 and (iii which lie in substantially the horizontal plane of the flanges 52' and 53' respectively and which provide supporting edges for the lower ends of the web pieces 5!] and 5| respectively.

Suitable means for guiding the cartridges as they move by gravity down a chute IT comprise a pair of metal straps 62 and 63, each "strap being located adjacent opposite sides of the chute and supported therein at their upper ends by means of a transverse tie 64! The latter is fixedly supported at its opposite ends on the upper edges of the sides of the chute, the straps 62 and 53 being welded in suitably spaced relationship on the underside of the tie. The extreme upper end 62' and 63 respectively of each-strap is bent upwardly slightl to insure passage of the cartridges beneath the straps.

The lower end of each strap is provided with a laterally extending substantially vertically disposed apron 54 and 65 respectively adapted to extend out in front of the cartridges at the lower end I12 of the chute so as to enable the cartridges to move the'reover, the cartridge being guided thereby to fall from the chute in a substantially vertical plane. Each apron is provided with a substantially rectangular notch 63 and B! respectively in its lower edge to accommodat'e a gate "hereinafter described. I w

The outer ends 64' and I respectively of-the aprons are adapted'to overlie the forwardly extending ends of apair of spacer blocks 68 and 69 which, as shown in Fig. 3, are welded at their rear ends to the front face of the transverse angle bar 58 and at their front ends to the overlying ends 64' and 65' of the aprons 54 and 65. Thus, the lower ends of the straps 62 and 63 are securely held in proper position relative to the chute I! so as to guide the cartridges being discharged therefrom.

Suitable means for holding the column of cartridges in the chute and enabling cartridges to drop out of the chute successively comprises a gate 10, shown in Fig. 6, which comprises an 'L- shaped block having a leg portion 12 which makes an angle of substantially 2 with a foot portion 13. A substantially rectangular slot 14 is formed on the underside of the foot 13 and extends the full length thereof. A counterbored hole 15 is drilled substantially vertically through the foot 13 on the longitudinal axis of the slot 14 and at a, distance a: from the inner edge thereof; The distance x will be different for each of the five gates shown in the present embodiment, each distance 5e being adapted to correspond to each of the five different positions of the selector disks 41a, 41b, 47c, 47d and Me of the conveyor chain as hereinafter described.

The actuation of each gate 10 is accomplished by providing a trigger member on each gate which comprises a substantially rectangular block 16 dimensioned to fit in the slot M of the gate and provided with a vertically tapped hole 18 and a depending forwardly inclined trigger Tl having a rounded nose 11'. The trigger blockis adapted to be assembled in the slot 14 of the gate and secured therein by means of a suitable screw l9, the latter being seated in the counterbored hole 15 of the gate and threadedly engaged in the tapped hole 18 of the trigger member. The distance a: of the counterbored hole 15 from the inner edge of the foot 1'3 thus determines the position of the trigger in the gate, the trigger block 15 being capable of sliding movement in the slot '14 until its tapped hole i8 lies opposite the counterbored hole 15 of the gate. In the present embodiment the distance at of each of the five gates is difierent, each distance :cbeing so chosen that the trigger T! of each respective gate Ill will be engaged by corresponding selector disks 41a, 41b, 41c, 41d and Me of the conveyor chain.

Each gate is adapted to be pivotally supported adjacent the discharge end I12 of one of the chutes l7 and to this end a hole 89 is drilled transversely through the foot portion 13 of the gate adjacent the top rear edge thereof. A suitable pin 83 is inserted in the hole 853 and is of sufficient length so that the opposite ends of the pin extend beyond each edge of the foot 73. The outwardly extending ends. of the rod 82 form trunnions 83 and 84 for pivotally supporting the gate in opera.- tive position.

As shown in Fig. 4, the trunnions are mounted in axially aligned horizontally drilled holes in thevertical wall of the bracket member 52 and in the spacer block 653 respectively. It will be clear that the pivot point of the gate is displaced rearwardly of the geometrical center thereof so that the forward end of the gate will normally pivot downwardly by gravity in a clockwise direction as seen in Fig. 5 for the scribed.

The rear face of the leg 72 of each gate") is purpose hereinafter 'deprovided with a rectangular longitudinally extending slot 85 which is adapted to rigidly support a pair of cartridge engaging fingers which, as shown in Fig. 8, comprise blocks 86, each having a concave face 81 and tapered edge 88 on one side and a rectangular tongue 89 on its opposite side. The width of each tongue corresponds substantially to the width of the slot 85 in the leg I2 of the gate, the tongue being adapted to make a substantially tight fit in the slot.

Suitably drilled and counterbored bolt holes 90 are formed in the leg of the gate on the longitudinal axis of the slot 85, these holes being spaced apart a predetermined distance found to be best suited for locating the fingers 86 with respect to the cartridge cases in the chute. The finger blocks 86 are adapted to be assembled and securely held in the slot 85 by suitable bolts 90' threadedly secured in tapped holes 92 in the tongue portion 89 of each block.

It will be clear that the slight angularity of the leg I2 of the gate relative to the foot portion I3 thereof compensates for the slight taper of the cartridge case and enables the concave surfaces 81 of both fingers 86 to partially encompass the case at the two predetermined spaced points thereon.

Although the configuration of both finger blocks 86 is substantially identical, the concave surface 81 of the outer finger may be of somewhat smaller radius so as to further compensate for the tapered dimensions of the cartridge case.

It will be evident, as shown in Fig. 5, that due to the pivotal mounting of the gate, the force of gravity acts thereon to pivot the front of the gate downwardly so that the rearwardly extending fingers 86 of the gate are normally maintained with their concave faces 81 in engagement with the cartridge case which is at the lower end of the chute I'I whereby the case is effectively supported and prevented from dropping out of the chute until such time as the fingers are displaced by actuation of the gate.

Thus gravity is the only force tending to hold the fingers 86 in engagement with the cartridges, but it will be understood that additional means may be utilized to augment the force of gravity.

Referring to the modification shown in Fig. 6a, the foot portion I3 of the gate I is formed by cutting a rectangular slot 93. in the rear face of the foot 13' thereby forming a yoke portion through which the pivot rod 82 passes. Mounted on this rod within the slot 93 is a coil spring 94 having an upwardly extending end 95 adapted to bear against a fixed part of the trough such as the front face of the transverse bar 58, the opposite end of the spring being adapted to bear against the rear wall of the slot 93. In this manner, the gate wiil be positively urged by the force of the spring 94 to pivot clockwise, thus augmenting the force of gravity to hold the fingers 86 in engagement with the underside of the lowermost cartridge in the chute.

The actuation of a gate by one of the disks is shown in Fig. 5. As a selector disk, in this instance 4Ia, engages the nose portion 11" of the trigger II of a gate III, the latter is pivoted counterclockwise, see dotted lines, so that its cartridge retaining fingers 86 are withdrawn from beneath the lowermost cartridge in the chute, thereby enabling this cartridge to drop down onto the conveyor chain into an aperture be-'- tween the'rods 45. The cartridges in the chain are thus actually supported on the bed 24 of the trough and 'are moved thereo'ver by the movement of the chain through the trough. As soon as the selector disk 41a has advanced sufficiently to release the nose 11' of the trigger I1, the gate drops down either by the force of gravity alone or augmented by the force of the spring 94 to its normal position wherein the fingers 86 engage and hold the next succeeding cartridge in the chute II until the trigger I1 is again engaged by one of the selector disks 41a of the conveyor belt. It will be understood that since this particular gate I0 is actuated only by selector disks 41a, cartridges will be delivered from the corresponding chute I! only into every fifth aperture of the conveyor belt.

Referring to Figs. 2a and 2b, the trough I1 is shown provided with covers for preventing foreign articles from'falling into the conveyor belt, in which event a jam or other malfunction would occur.

The covers 98 comprise thin sheet metal stock substantially rectangular in shape and provided with longitudinal down-turned edges 99 which are adapted to overlie the edges of the trough I6, as shown in Fig. 21). A suitable rectangular aperture I00 is provided in each cover, each aperture being closed by a transparent window I02 of glass or other suitable plastic material. The rear end of each cover 98 is square and provided with an upwardly and rearwardly extending lip 98' whereas the forward end is cut at an angle to make allowance at one side for the rib 56' which, as shown in Fig. 2, extends vertically from beneath each chute. A forwardly and upwardly extending lip I03 is provided on the front edge of each cover, the lips 98' and I03 being adapted to provide additional protectionforthe belt and gates and to enable ready removal of the covers. The front end of the foremost cover I04 is shown square, but in other respects the cover I04 is substantially identical to the covers 98. The rear cover is shown at I05 substantially identical to the covers 98 but is not provided with a window.

The operation of the machine is as follows: Assuming, for the purpose of illustration, that a cartridge belt is to be formed consisting of two hundred and sixty-five cartridges arranged in successive series of five cartridges, each series of which comprises two armor piercing, one incendiary and two tracer bullets. The two rearmost chutes I7, see Fig. 1, are filled with armor piercing cartridges, the middle chute with incendiary cartridges and the two foremost chutes with tracer cartridges. The gate I0 on the rearmost chute may, for example, be chosen to mount a trigger TI at position a: thereon so as to be actuated by the selector disks 41a of the conveyor chain. The next chute would be provided with a gate having a trigger 11 located thereon so as to be actuated by the selector disks 4'") of the conveyor chain. Similarly, the middle chute and the two foremost chutes would be provided with gates adapted to be actuated by selector disks 41c and 41d, 4'Ie respectively.

Thus, as the conveyor chain is moved forwardly through the trough, the selector disk 41a, will actuate the'gate I0 of the rearmost chute I1 and release a cartridge therefrom onto the chain, the next succeeding selector disk 471) will pass by the trigger ll of the rearmost gate I0 without engagement therewith, but will engage and actuate the trigger 11 of the next gate thereby discharging a second armor piercing cartridge onto the chain. The selector disk 41c will pass freely by the triggers 11 of the two rearmost chutes but;

will engage and actuate the trigger ll of the center chute thereby releasing an incendiary cartridge onto the chain immediately following the two armour piercing bullets. The two succeeding selector disks 41d and file will pass freely by the triggers of the rearmost and center chutes but will engage and successively actuate the triggers of the foremost chutes respectively thus discharging two tracer cartridges onto the belt immediately succeeding the two armour piercing and the incendiary cartridge. In this manner, fifty-three successive series of selectively arranged sets of five cartridges are discharged onto the conveyor chain. Thereafter the rod 450 of the conveyor chain passes beneath the chutes, but, since this rod carrie no selector disk, none of the gates will be actuated and hence no cartridges will be delivered onto the conveyor chain. Thereupon, the continuous delivery of the cartridges to the link belt loadin device l8 will be interrupted whereby a break in the belt occurs after each link belt of two hundred and sixty-five cartridges has been formed.

What is claimed is:

1. A machine for selectively arranging a plurality of dissimilar articles in predetermined sequence comprising a frame; a track on said frame; an article conveying means movable on said track, said movable conveying means comprising a pair of endless spaced parallel roller link chains guided by said tracks and rods connecting opposite links of the respective chains, said rods being spaced apart longitudinally to provide apertures for receiving said articles with corresponding ends of the rods extending laterally beyond one of the chains; a plurality of arcuate chutes for feeding dissimilar articles by gravity into the apertures of the endless chain conveyor; flanges on the lower ends of said chutes; fastening means for securing said flanges to said frame; a gate pivotally mounted on said frame adjacent the lower end of each chute, each gate comprising a pair of laterally spaced fingers adapted toengage an article in the respective chute to prevent the release of an article from the chute and a trigger to actuate the fingers to enable the release of an article from the chute; and article selecting members comprising disks secured on the extended ends of said rods, each disk being arranged so as to engage the trigger of one of the gates to actuate the article retaining fingers thereof and release an article so selected from the respective chute into an aperture of the endless chain conveyor.

2. A machine for selectively arranging a plurality of dissimilar types of cartridges in predetermined sequence comprising a longitudinal substantially horizontal frame; a bed on said frame; a pair of tracks mounted adjacent said bed; an endless conveyor belt movable on said track, said belt comprising a pair of roller link chains slidable on said tracks and rods connecting opposite links of the respective chains, said rods bein parallel and spaced apart longitudinally to provide apertures for accommodating said cartridges with corresponding ends of the rods extending laterally beyond one of the chains; a plurality of chutes for feeding cartridges by gravity into the apertures of the endless conveyor belt onto the bed of said frame, each chute being adapted to hold one type of the several dissimilar types of cartridges to be fed to the conveyor belt; flanges on the lower end of each chute; fastening means for securing the flanges to the frame at longitudinally spaced points thereon; gates pivotally mounted on said frame adjacent the lower end of each chute, each gate comprising a pair of laterally spaced finger adapted to be held in engagement with the cartridge in the respective chute to prevent the release of the cartridge therefrom and a trigger to actuate the finger to enable the release of a cartridge from the chute; a disk secured on the extended end of each rod, said disks being at various distances from the ends of the rods, each disk being adapted to engage the trigger of one of the gates to actuate the fingers thereof and release a cartridge so selected from the respective chute into an aperture of the endless chain conveyor; and mean for moving said conveyor belt to successively engage said disks with the fingers of said gates.

NOEL M. EDSON. EARL B. HOBACK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,359,696 Greene Nov. 23, 1920 699,244 Rubin May 6, 1902 531,616 Black Dec. 25, 1894 1,536,420 Carpenter May 5, 1925 2,335,646 Chalmers Nov. 30, 1943 

